DEFLECT

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does deflect mean? 

• DEFLECT (verb)
  The verb DEFLECT has 5 senses:

1. prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

2. turn from a straight course, fixed direction, or line of interest

3. turn aside and away from an initial or intended course

4. draw someone's attention away from something

5. impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball)

  Familiarity information: DEFLECT used as a verb is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• DEFLECT (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they deflect    ... he / she / it deflects   
Past simple: deflected   
Past participle: deflected   
-ing form: deflecting   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Prevent the occurrence of; prevent from happening

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

avert; avoid; debar; deflect; fend off; forefend; forfend; head off; obviate; stave off; ward off

Context example:

avert a strike

Hypernyms (to "deflect" is one way to...):

forbid; foreclose; forestall; preclude; prevent (keep from happening or arising; make impossible)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Sense 2

Meaning:

Turn from a straight course, fixed direction, or line of interest

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Synonyms:

bend; deflect; turn away

Hypernyms (to "deflect" is one way to...):

turn (change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

deflection (a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern))

deflector (a device intended to turn aside the flow of something (water or air or smoke etc))

deflexion (a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern))

Sense 3

Meaning:

Turn aside and away from an initial or intended course

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "deflect" is one way to...):

turn (change orientation or direction, also in the abstract sense)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Somebody ----s

Derivation:

deflection (a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern))

deflective (capable of changing the direction (of a light or sound wave))

deflector (a device intended to turn aside the flow of something (water or air or smoke etc))

deflexion (a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern))

Sense 4

Meaning:

Draw someone's attention away from something

Classified under:

Verbs of feeling

Synonyms:

deflect; distract

Context example:

He deflected his competitors

Hypernyms (to "deflect" is one way to...):

confuse; disconcert; flurry; put off (cause to feel embarrassment)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody

Sense 5

Meaning:

Impede the movement of (an opponent or a ball)

Classified under:

Verbs of fighting, athletic activities

Synonyms:

block; deflect; parry

Context example:

block an attack

Hypernyms (to "deflect" is one way to...):

fence (fight with fencing swords)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

The fighter managed to deflect his opponent

 Context examples 

"These hot flow anomalies are made of very hot solar wind deflected off the bow shock."

(Messenger spots giant space weather effects at Mercury, NASA)

These small bubbles of magnetic "sunscreen" can also deflect solar wind particles — but on a much smaller scale than Earth's magnetic field.

(NASA Mission Reveals Origins of Moon's 'Sunburn', NASA)

It is also believed that the early moon had a magnetosphere - a magnetic field which would have deflected the sun's deadly electromagnetic radiation - similar to Earth's.

(Life Could Exist on Moon 4 Billion Years Ago, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)

The magnetic field causes the current to deflect, creating a voltage in the transverse direction, called the Hall voltage.

(Research reveals exotic quantum states in double-layer graphene, National Science Foundation)

As well as producing vaterite, Saxifraga scardica has a special tissue surrounding the leaf edge that appears to deflect light from the edge into the leaf.

(Rare mineral discovered in plants for first time, University of Cambridge)

Crucially, the pattern of flow across the two dunes was observed to be different: the flow is deflected by the front dune, generating ‘swirls’ on the back dune and pushing it away.

(Sand dunes can ‘communicate’ with each other, University of Cambridge)

Most of the charged particles are deflected, but some make their way into near-Earth space and can impact our satellites by damaging onboard electronics and disrupting communications or navigation signals.

(Space Weather Events Linked to Human Activity, NASA)

It is this brawny electric potential of many hundreds of Volts that could deflect and slow particles in the solar wind.

(NASA Research Gives New Insights into How the Moon Got 'Inked', NASA)

Even as he spoke, a bullet was deflected by a brass-capped spoke of the wheel between his hands and screeched off through the air to windward.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

As those particles flow toward the Moon, they are deflected to the areas just around the magnetic bubbles, where chemical reactions with the regolith darken the surface.

(NASA Mission Reveals Origins of Moon's 'Sunburn', NASA)